Steering column and wheel



E. DVORAK.

STEERING COLUMN AND WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I, 1919.

N Patented FeB.10,1920.

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. E. DVORAK.

STEERING COLUMN AND WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1. 1919.

1 3 30, 1 78 Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

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nrvntnvon'anor OCHEYEDAN, IOWA.

s'rnnnrne COLUMN AND WHEEL.

To all whom it may concern: 1130 it known that I, EMIL DVORAK, citizen of the United States, residing at Ocheyedan, in the county of Osceola and Stateof Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steering Columns and \Vheels,of which the following is a specification; v V

This invention relates to an improved steering column and wheel-for motor ve hicles and has as its primary object to'provide a construction wherein the steering wheel may be folded or'shifted upwardly to a position out of the way to thus provide ample clearance betweenythe upper end of the steering column and the dnvers seat so that the driver may readily move behind the column into or out of said seat. c The invention has as a further object'to provide a construction wherein the steering wheel will be normally locked in aotivepo sition but wherein said wheel may, when desired, be readily released and swung to'in-I active position. r

' And the invention has-asa still further object to provide a steering column and wheel which will be well adapted-for general use. I

Other and incidental objects will appear hereinafter. In. the drawings:

Figurel is a fragmentary side elevation of my improved steering column and wheel,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryv sectional view showing the steering wheel locked in active position upon the steering column.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view particularly illustrating the arrangement of the throttle and spark rods at opposite sides of the steering column,

lFig. a is a transverse sectional view taken on the line H of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view showing the latch and associated parts employed in connection with the steering wheel mounting, the several elements being disassembled.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation showing the bearing employed for rotatably supporting the steering rod.

In carrying the invention into effect, I employ a steering rod 10 provided at its upper end with an enlarged head 11. r Sur rounding the upper portion of the steering rod and abutting at its upper end against the shoulder at the inner end of the head, is a casing 12 formed at its upper end with an Specification of Letters Patent.

annular flange 13. At its lower endthe is, as suggested in Fig. 1, of the drawings, adapted to be secured in any approved manner to a vehicle dash for bracing thesteering column with respectthereto. Supporting-the steering rod to freely turn within the casing 12' is a roller bearing 15 of approved type. Thisroller bearing surrounds the rod and is held between a nut 16 upon the rod and'a washer 17 abutting the vehicledash. The nut isadjustable for taking up longitudinal play in the steering rod and is. locked in adjusted 'position'by a suitablecotter pin. ilournaled; through the fian$ 13 of. the casing at opposite sides of said casing, are throttle and control rods 18 and'19 respectively.- Immediately above the flange 13 of the casing these rods are provided with offset portions 20 coacting with a quadrant 21, upon the flange. Y Atits upper end, the head 11 of the'steering rod 10 is provided with a transverse slot 21' and pivotally mounted within this slot is a hinge member 22. This hinge member is supported by a pivot pin 23 extending transversely through the head and formed on said member at its lower edge is a lateral lug 2a at the inner end of the member. At its outer end, the hinge member is provided with a head plate and mounted upon I thi'splate is a steering wheel 26, the inner end portions of the spokes of which are riveted or otherwise secured to the plate.

Screwed or otherwise secured to the head 11 in alinement with the slot 21 is a bracket 27 and pivoted upon this bracket is a latch 28. At its upper end the latch is provided with a laterally directed lug 29 adapted to extend into the slot 21 and, as shown in Fig. 2, engage over the lug 24 of the hinge member 22. Formed on the lower end of said latch is a thumb plate .30 and bearing between the latch and the head 11 of the steering rod is a spring 31 normally holding the latch coacting with the hinge member As will now be clear, the latch 28 will normally coact with the hinge. member 22 to'retain this hinge memberwithin the slot 21 of the head 11 of the steering rod and lock the steering wheel. in active position. Consequently, the steering wheel may be rotated in the usual manner for turning the steering rod. However, when it is desired by a drlver to get into or out of a vehicle Pat-enteareb'.10.1920;

Application filed. April .1, 1919. Serial No. 286,645.

casing is integrally formed with or otherwise secured to a dashplate 145 This plate equipped with my improved steering col umn and wheel, the latch may be depressed at its lower end to free the hinge member 22 so that the steering wheel may thus be swung upwardly to inactive position out'fo'f the-way. As illustrated in Fig. 2, thelu s 24 and 29 have their opposed faces exten ing at right angles to the longitudinal axis of'the steering column so as to pre'ventrthe pivotal movement of the steering wheel prior to-releasing the latch 28. Since the under,

side of the lug 24 is in contact with the bottom wall of the slot and the upper side of the same iswfiatly in contact with the lug 29,, accidental movement of the steerin aboutthe axis of the pivot 23 is eliminate In other words,- the operating or rear portion of the latch 28 must be manually with ease.

pressed inwardly toward the steering columnin order to release the steering wheel when it is desired to move the same on its pivot, to an inoperative position. This construction eliminates the possibility of the operator of the vehicle pressing down on 'umn and Wheel may be readily installed c upon different types of vehicle.

'As'illust'rated in Fig. 2, the underside of the lug 24 is held flatly in contact with the bottom wall 'of the s t by the inwardly directed lu 29 of the latch 28, whereby the steering w eel is held rigidly in position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new 1s:

v -1. The. combination with a steering rod hav ing a transverse slot of a hinge plate havinga shank pivoted within said slot and providediwith a laterally projecting lug flatly in contact with the bottom wall of the slot, a steering wheel attached to said hinge: plate, a bracket carried bythe steering rod,

a latch pivoted intermediate its ends-to said bracket, theupper portion ofsaid latch beingiextended *inwardly to form a lu'g adapted'for engaging said first named lug;

said first and second named lugs having their opposed faces. extending at: right angles to the axis ofthe steering rod when the steering wheel is in an o erativeposition, and a coil spring confined between the rear portion of said latch and the adj acent portion of thesteering rod for press ing the lug of the latch inwardly.

2. The combination with a steering rod having a transversefslot, of a hinge plate 7 having a shank pivoted within said slot, fa steermg wheel on said nmge plate' a laterally extendmg lug carried by the lnner end of said shank and flatly in contact with the bottom wall of said slot when the steering wheel is in an'operative position; arlatch extending longitudinally of the steering rod and pivoted intermediate its= ends at one side of the steering rod for providing-an operating portion. at its rearend; 'an'in wardly extending lug carried by the upper end of'said; latch and adapted to engage the upper side of the lug of saidshank, and spring means engaged with, the frear portion of said latch for seeuring-saidfirst and second named lugs in engagement. In testimony whereof I aflix by signature,

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